this thread is supposed to be in celebration of mr. Evgeni plushenko, and how he honoured us all with his presence this year, which he did so spectacularly!

Let's celebrate, people, his phenomenal accomplishment to be the only man in figure skating history to take 3.5 years off, and then come back at age 27 to win the silver medal at the 2010 olympics, thereby solidifying his place in history ~ becoming an immortal ~ joining gillis grafstrom & sonje henie in this honor.

Nobody else can claim this, not even dick button or karl schafer nor the countless other two-time olympic medalists.

To be a 3-time olympic medalist marks him as a titan/immortal in my book.

Just think, evgeni suffered injury after injury, injection after injection, setback after setback, yet by his own hardwork & the grace of the skate gods he managed to do the impossiible.

Is it true Evgeni has said he will come back for Sochi 2014? Maybe we can change the title of the thread to 'Plushenko will honor us with his presence in 2014!' Wouldn't that be something? We'll probably have 1000+ posts by then...

Lol, I've been having an enjoyable time studying the history of Russia, in particular the Romanovs & their famous Faberge Eggs, of which I would love to see when I visit Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Currently the Kremlin Armoury Museum houses the most faberge eggs (all imperial) ~ 10 ~ and also boasts the Imperial Crown of Russia. I love jewelry, so seeing these treasures first-hand will be a joy!

Seems like the greatest athletes, like King Plushenko (aka Evgeni Plushenko), originate from Russia. Perfect example is "The Great One" (aka Wayne Gretzky), whose paternal grandparents are Belarusians; his paternal grandfather was born in the Russian Empire, whereas his paternal grandmother was born in the Ukraine. And of course the greatest ballerinas of all time come from Russia (aka Anna Pavlova).

I look forward to witnessing first hand the arts, culture, and history of this magnificent country. Hopefully it hasn't turned into a cesspool since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. I know there are good parts & bad parts of every country, but some of the things I've read about since the fall have turned my stomach. I prefer my romantic view, but alas am a realist. *wink*

Wouldn't that be geat if King Plushenko was the one chosen to light the torch in 2014!?! Are there any other candidates with his credentials & pedigree? I think not. *smile*

Eh, is soccer very popular in Russia? I thought hockey might be more popular...

I don't know in Russia, but I do know King EP loves it!
this summer he trained for two weeks in the same place as Juventus football team, and he became friend with Alex Del Piero. Today, on Italian newspaper, Plushenko was saying "good luck" to Del Piero on to making the national team for Soccer worlds next June...
plus, I think he also is close with some soccer stars in Russia, he mentioned them somewhere...

Thanks for the info. about the soccer & training, he's an all-around athlete, I'm sure he would excel at whatever sport he chose to take up, as I've found this to be true of many great athletes (e.g. Apolo Anton Ohno won DWTS, though never a trained professional dancer like the others on the show).

ps: as The King gets older I notice he's looking more & more like "The Great One".

Thanks for the brand new interview! WOW, he actually says he WILL compete at Worlds! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards the rest of the interview, it's hard for me to understand because of all the noise, etc. But I gather he's going to take it one year at a time to see if he will actually be able to compete in Sochi. Good idea. The injuries/surgeries he brought up is very important to consider. Thus far he's been the luckiest out of ALL the athletes throughout the years to be able to compete (e.g. Michellle Kwan had to withdraw from the 2006 Olympics due to her hip/groin injury; Tara Lipinski's hip injury knocked her out of competition at the young age of 15; Stephane Lambiel's abductor injuries/groin/et al has prevented him from ever trying the 3A again; Alexei Yagudin's degenerative hip injury forced him to stop competing after the 2002 Olympics; Timothy Goebel's injury knocked him out as well after 2002; and on & on & on & on). EP is the ONLY one out of ALL of them that has still managed to compete, and compete successfully! I wonder how much Lady Luck will be on his side?

Taking it one year at a time is the best idea. Like I've said before, he should immediately relax after Worlds........take it relatively easy for the next 3 years......in fact I honestly don't care if he never medals again at the Olympics. I would just like him to compete, even if he comes in dead last. It will be in his home country, that's what matters.

Believe me, we have seen some amazing Russian skating over the years, but after seeing Mr. Plushenko's bratty reaction to the silver we are wishing he had stayed retired too!

I hope this episode will reinforce to *all* skaters the value of being gracious to other competitors under *all* circumstances, even if you feel things didn't go your way. That is what makes a true champion.....having the class to celebrate a big win or brave a disappointing loss with grace.